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Saturday, January 10, 2009

Haunted Patriotic Hall

Down on Figueroa Street near Washington Blvd. stands the Bob Hope Patriotic Hall. It is a familiar landmark in Los Angeles.

The Hall's history (from the Dept. of Military and Veterans Affairs website):

The Department of Military and Veterans Affairs (DMVA)began with the purchase of a 3-story abandoned church building located on the side of the present staff's parking lot, prior to 1900. That building was remodeled and became known as Victory Hall. Following World War I, Victory Hall was soon outgrown and plans were laid to create a new multi-story building. Bob Hope Patriotic Hall, as we see it today, was opened to the public in September 1926.

Owned and operated by the County of Los Angeles, Bob Hope Patriotic Hall is a practical and living memorial to veterans. It was dedicated by the Board of Supervisors in 1926. Members of the Grand Army of the Republic, veterans of Indian Wars, Spanish American War veterans and World War I veterans were among the first to use the facilities. The building was designed by Allied Architects Association and has been awarded the Certificate of Honor by the Southern California chapter of the American Society of Architects because of its exceptional merit. Its design is Romanesque with fine vaulted arch construction in the lobby.


The Hall is currently undergoing renovation, which is scheduled to be completed in 2010.

One interesting aspect to the Bob Hope Patriotic Hall is that it is reportedly haunted. There have been some deaths at the Hall since its 1926 opening. One elderly veteran was found dead while seated in one of the upper floors during a social gathering not too long after the Hall's opening. Another reported death was the suicide of a female in one of the Hall's restrooms.

Recently, it has been reported that apparitions have been seen. One man saw a transparent woman dressed in red glide across the floor. Another person reported that an office chair in the Hall's lobby suddenly started rocking on its own. And two other people reported seeing a gray figure emerge from the first floor auditorium's doorway (the doors remained closed) and zip across the main lobby only to disappear into a corner.

Several security guards have experienced strange manifestations and generally try to avoid sitting in the Hall, preferring to sit in their cars instead.

I have been in the Bob Hope Patriotic Hall a number of times and never witnessed anything unusual. Maybe one of these days I might get lucky in an upcoming visit.

Trivia: Several scenes from the movie Flashdance were filmed in the Hall.

6 comments:

aaron said...

my name is aaron and im a in house guard at the hall and all i can say is that after 6 pm you dont want to be in there..we had guards that took off from the building that refuse to make comments .I wont stay there after 6 and I carry a big gun..

aaron said...

my name is aaron and im the guard of the patriotic hall,the ghost of the lady has approched many of our guards and had full blown conversations with them without them knowing that their talking to a ghost one guard just took off and refused to come out of his house for months.i carry a gun and i will never step foot there at knights.this place is far passed haunted..?

Unknown said...

Veterans that come there are searched like criminals when they enter the building. And the dirty little secrets that Bob Hope covered up before his death , it's no wonder the place is haunted...GOOD JOB GHOST & SPIRITS OF VENGEANCE !!! DONT STOP UNTIL THE JOB IS DONE !!! 😵

Mario Uribe said...

Yeah so my name is Mario I was a supervisor in 2006 the security company that I worked for had this contract back then I heard all the stories from a veteran that would come On the holidays to put up the flag about the woman, about a man & other stories I believe him But I’m one that has to see it to believe it then I saw it lol. me & another supervisor used to go to this building for lunch instead of food we would play basketball after the game we went down to the restroom first floor & wash our faces as I’m heading out & drying my face something catches my attention to the right of me it’s a small office room that has a smaller office inside that room what I saw was a red dress & Barefeet but what it looked like was someone running away I can tell it was a woman because of the dress so I told the guard that somebody was inside but that was also impossible because the building was locked due to the renovation it was under & of course we went into the room & nobody was there. He then told me you just saw the lady that many have seen in this building that freaked me out it was my first time ever seen something like this so maybe two months later a new supervisor showed up that I had to train & show him the ropes & one of his visits was gonna be this Building so I told him about it & he just laughed he didn’t believe me.once we went to the building the Guard unlock the door to let us in & locked it behind us we went to the 10th floor where he saw the basketball court then took him to the roof to see downtown LA then we went to the 8th floor now for those of you that don’t know in the 8th floor it’s been reported that there is a different feeling in that floor there’s a heaviness like if someone sitting on your chest I’ve experienced it once before & I experienced it again when we both walked out of the elevator We both went different directions on the floor But when I looked over at him I can see him grabbing his chest I asked are you good? he said not really I feel like I cant breathe then he said I don’t feel good let’s just get out of here then he asked why is it so cold in here the AC is not on I just said I thought you didn’t believe in this stuff so I laughed & we headed to the elevator he’s leaning against the wall & I’m standing in front of the elevator door looking at it when we hear this loud click clack noise coming to the left of me to the left of me is a empty room that has a door that leads to a balcony. The story goes that a man fell from the balcony & died & also that a woman which it is recorded committed suicide in the restroom so what Came next scared us to death a marble came bouncing from that empty room like if somebody tossed it, it bounced a couple of times & hit the elevator door & then it stopped like if somebody put their hand on top of it to stop it between me & the supervisor this black man turn white & chills went up my back we both were scared the elevator door opened up for some reason I don’t know why I picked up the marble & put it in my pocket we went down to the first floor he told me he had to use the restroom to take a leak & to please not leave him alone to wait for him I did but a minute later he came running out of that restroom even more scared I asked what’s wrong he said both sinks just turned on I told him that’s crazy because not too long ago the graveyard guard left her phone inside here to charge & thought it was a good idea to leave her phone on record & she picked up some crazy noises the next night she was fired because the sink on the 8th floor overflowed & a lot of water damage went down to the elevator shaft I strongly believe it was because she did what she did with her phone. I had to share this story I know it’s long but I haven’t shared it in a long time I don’t know why I look this up today it’s 2020 and I’m bored I guess but I still have the marble & no activity followed me thank God lol

Unknown said...

Can I go visit at 700pm,I work in the hospital at security guard

Armand Vaquer said...

Couldn't say. I haven't been there in over ten years.

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